![]() The sound pressure level (SPL) was measured with a digital noise meter, with its sensor placed near the top opening of the case. We assume that is the common setup used by a cooling enthusiast or overclocker. The front and rear case fans were spinning at minimum speed in order to simulate the “normal” cooler use on a well-ventilated case. The core temperature was read with the SpeedFan program (available from the CPU thermal sensors), using an arithmetic average of the core temperature readings.ĭuring the tests, the panels of the computer case were closed. Room temperature measurements were taken with a digital thermometer. Every cooler was tested with the thermal compound that comes with it. This means you can find different values in older reviews than the values you will read on the next page. Note that the results cannot be compared to measures taken on a different hardware configuration, so we retested some “old” co We compared the tested cooler to other coolers we already tested, and to the stock cooler that comes with the Core i5-2500K CPU. (In this version, the software uses all available threads.) In order to get 100% CPU usage in all cores, we ran Prime 95 25.11 with the “In-place Large FFTs” option. We measured noise and temperature with the CPU under full load. This could interfere with the temperature readings, so we chose to maintain a moderate overclocking. This CPU was able to reach 4.8 GHz with its default core voltage, but at this setting, the processor enters thermal throttling when using mainstream coolers, reducing the clock and thus the thermal dissipation. In order to get higher thermal dissipation, we overclocked it to 4.0 GHz (100 MHz base clock and x40 multiplier), with 1.3 V core voltage (Vcore). We tested the cooler with a Core i5-2500K CPU (quad-core, 3.3 GHz), which is a socket LGA1155 processor with a 95 W TDP (Thermal Design Power). We tested the Kraken X60 in two modes: Silent and Extreme. The color of the LEDs at the block can also be configured. The fans can be configured for three operating modes: Extreme, Silent, or Custom, where you can program a fan power versus temperature curve. The software that controls the Kraken X60 comes with the product. Depending on your case, you may be able to fit the radiator on the bottom panel or on the front panel. Figure 12 shows the Kraken X60 installed in our system, with the radiator at the top panel of the case. Figure 11 shows the frame mounted on the block.įigure 10: Mounting hardware for Intel CPUsĪfter assembling the frame on the block, install the system inside your case. There is a similar set of parts for use with AMD processors. In Figure 10, you can see the backplate with nuts (at the left) and the frame with screws (at the right) mounted for use with sockets LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, and LGA2011. This is needed to inform the motherboard the fan speed.įigure 9 illustrates the 140 mm PWM fans that come with the Kraken X60. At the right, there is one three-pin connector that must be connected to the “CPU cooler” header of the motherboard. At the left there is a SATA power connector, then four four-pin connectors for fans, and a connector to be attached to a USB header on the motherboard. The thermal compound comes pre-applied.įigure 8 shows the cables of the block. The base of the block, which is made of copper, is revealed in Figure 7. ![]() The manufacturer’s logo at the top is illuminated by internal LEDs, and you can choose the color of the light. The block, with the integrated pump, is shown in Figure 6. At the upper side is the 280 mm radiator at the bottom is the block.įigures 4 and 5 reveal the 280 mm radiator of the NZXT Kraken X60. The sealed radiator-block system is shown in Figure 3. This watercooler is discussed in detail in the following pages. The Kraken X60 uses the same USB interface that allows the computer to control and monitor temperature, pump, and fan speed.įigure 1 shows the box of the NZXT Kraken X60.įigure 2 shows the contents of the box: the radiator-block set, fans, manuals, driver and utility disk, and installation hardware. We already tested its smaller version, the Kraken X40, which has a 140 mm radiator. The Kraken X60 has the biggest radiator of all the sealed liquid cooling systems we tested so far. The Kraken X60 is a sealed liquid cooling system for CPUs, with a 280 mm radiator cooled by two 140 mm fans placed side-by-side.
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